Southern peace talks between the Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) and the National Security Council are likely to be halted temporarily because of political instability, experts say.
The peace talks have been running since February. The latest round took place in June and there has been no sign when the next one will happen.
Srisompob Jitpiromsri, a political science lecturer at Prince of Songkla University's Pattani Campus, said any future action on peace talks cannot be legally conducted until a new government is in place next year.
"Everyone agrees that peace talks will help end the problems in the three southernmost provinces, but they might be different in terms of process if the government is eventually changed," he said.
For instance, the team of negotiators involved might change. If the Democrats took office, peace talks might be conducted secretly, according to the Democrat's wishes.
However, this would be good because if all details of the peace talks were disclosed to the public, this would cause considerable stress to those involved, he said.
The academic gave his views at a seminar on southern peace under political conflict held by Thammasat University.
Romdon Panjor, of Deep South Watch, said the peace talks will be suspended, not because of the political chaos, but due to the BRN's five demands, which directly hit at the heart of the southern problem.
Earlier this month, BRN liaison office chief Hassan Taib, who led the group's negotiation team, said the demands must be acknowledged by parliament and placed on the national agenda by the prime minister.
"Hassan Taib said the peace talks should be conducted on a democratic principle approved by parliament," Mr Romdon said.
Shintaro Hara, a lecturer at Prince of Songkla University's Pattani Campus, said both sides had major weaknesses that needed to be solved. "As far as I know, the prime minister has never shown any strong desire to run the peace talks and the stability of the government is also a problem," he said.
"Meanwhile, the BRN's attacks on soft targets lowers its legitimacy in political battles. Whichever party wins should take full responsibility for solving the southern problem."
Mr Hara said the demands of anti-government protesters led by Suthep Thaugsuban had failed to follow the constitution, while the BRN's demands fell under the charter.
"Both are called rebels, but why has the government hesitated to consider the BRN's legitimacy?" he asked.